


Mending the Cracks

by Piff



Series: Alpha Beta Oh no.. [2]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Everyone needs a hug at somepoint, Humanoid Pastas, Hurt/Comfort, I swear to god half this fic is a therapy session, Long term illness, M/M, More Therapy, No Smut, No murder, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Parental Rejection, Past Mpreg, Recovery, Swearing, Therapy, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 04:45:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19738573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piff/pseuds/Piff
Summary: Germany was good for Jeff and Laff, but now it's time to come home. To their family, to their friends, to their... other problems.Teenagers are a nightmare. Seriously.-7/9 Somehow I broke the italics on the second half, whoops.I would really recommend reading Part 1 first, not sure this would make a ton of sense otherwise.





	Mending the Cracks

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this monster came from, but I guess I wasn't ready to let go of the setting or characters yet. I'm rather fond of it though, writing something a little more serious was a nice change of pace. 
> 
> I have a terrible tendency to not actually describe characters so.. uhh... Yeah. If you aren't a Creepy Pasta fan I wish you luck.
> 
> <3
> 
> .

Ugh, housework.

Jeff was hungry, bored, and exhausted from jet lag but at the same time too wired to sleep. Plus, even though all the windows had been opened to let in the cool night air it was still too stuffy in the house. He didn’t _want_ to unpack more clothes. Instead he chose to collapse backwards to lay on the floor and feel very sorry for himself.

He whined. When that didn’t make Laff come running, he whined again in a higher and more plaintive tone.

Ahah, there he was.

Laff stuck his head into the room and sounded very aggrieved as he said- “Babe. Come on. We’ve got a million boxes in the living room to be sorted and moved. Knock it off.”

Jeff just stared at him, laying on his back among the boxes of clothes and fragile knick knacks protectively hidden among said clothes. He lifted his hands and made vague grabby motions in the empty air with another whine because he could and he was bored.

With the long suffering sigh of a hen-pecked Alpha, Laff set the box he’d been carrying on the floor and walked into the room. He grabbed the flailing hands and pulled Jeff up to a standing position. “You’re acting like a child,” he informed the smaller man.

“ ‘cause I’m hungry. Feed me before I eat the meat from your bones.”

“I already called for a pizza. We just need to get a little more unpacking done and-” Laff crouched down to hook an arm under Jeff’s knees, lifting him up securely. “-I even ordered bread sticks for you, so be nice and please let me work.”

“No. I’m tired and this is taking forever.” Jeff curled up so he could nuzzle at Laff’s throat. “Entertain me.”

“Mmmm… No.” Laff, the mean bastard he was, easily tossed Jeff at the bed whose bare mattress was piled with yet more clothing. Jeff was knocked slightly breathless as he hit the mound of fabrics, but not enough to keep him from bouncing right back to his feet.

Laff was already gone by that point and Jeff chased after him. Chase the Alpha was only one of the games that they’d learned from Jeff’s therapist, but it was a definite favorite. Jeff took the stairs two at a time and leapt the last set. Inside the house, Laff’s larger size was definitely working against him, but he was a crafty man and led Jeff in circles around the mostly bare rooms.

The game ended when Jeff jumped onto the kitchen table and tackled him to the floor. Sadly that’s also where his achievement ended, Laff easily turning it around to pin him against the cold tiles. They growled at each other for a few seconds, nipping at each other’s nose, but the playful fight was stopped by the ringing doorbell.

“Finally!” Jeff squirmed until Laff obligingly sat up and set him free. “Gimme your wallet.”

“You only love me for my money,” Laff mourned as he patted at his back pockets.

Jeff rolled his eyes. “What money? We’re dirt poor.” He took the wallet, nuzzled at Laff’s ear, and ran for the door to catch the pizza man before he gave up and drove off.

“There better not be any damn pineapple on the pizza!” Jeff called back as he opened the front door. “You’ll be sleeping on the fucking couch!” He turned around and it was not the pizza man on the doorstep, not even close. Jeff stepped back as he came face to face with his offspring for the first time in fifteen years.

“I know it’s late, but I just want to talk!” the teenager blurted. A sweatshirt had been pulled on over his pajamas and the kid was barefoot to boot. A very hasty decision had been made this night.

Oh hell no. Jeff turned back to the inside of the house and screamed.

“LAFF!”

=============================

In exchange for being allowed to write about his treatments for Jeff, the two of them had been given a tiny house near the hospital for the duration of their stay. Much smaller than the house they’d sold back home, more like an apartment nestled inside a bit of garden, it was nonetheless a cozy little space.

Bare feet on the scattered rugs covering the floor, Jeff moved near soundlessly, but the sleepy “what’re you doing?” kept him from sneaking up on the busily working Alpha.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” Laff turned away from his laptop to scold.

Jeff made a face and pushed at the chair. “Move back.” After Laff obliged him, the smaller man planted himself on his lap, sitting sideways with his feet dangling over the floor and tucking his face into Laff’s neck.

“What’re you doing?” he asked again once he was comfortable.

“Picking out some pictures for the family. Toby’s been asking for them, and I thought I’d make a private family page to keep them updated on things.” Holding Jeff no longer felt like he was holding a baby bird, Laff running his hands over Jeff’s back and arms.

“Send them the Krampus one.”

“You can’t even tell it’s me.. but the parade pictures are still pretty good…” Laff reached around to grab the mouse, bringing up a new folder.

“No, the ones after the parade, when you took the mask and stuff off. It’s hot.”

“...I don’t think your brother needs to see that….”

“You’re an ass. _Before_ you stripped down and while you’re still wearing most of the costume.”

Laff chuckled. “Fine, Krampus it is. In fair trade, I’m sending the one of you playing in the snow.”

“Eh.”

Jeff’s forehead against his neck was refreshingly cool. Just a short while ago he’d radiated heat like he’d swallowed a small sun, now Laff worried that Jeff’s temperature was too low. Jeff was starting to get snippy about the amount of times Laff tried to shove a thermometer into his mouth.

Good thing Laff had found one that took temperatures through the ear..

Other than that, Laff was feeling hopeful. A new diet, heavy on the red meat and proteins. New pills, new treatments. Surgery when Doktor Manning was satisfied with progress. Therapy three times a week.

Laff himself was sleeping better than he had in years, no medication needed, though Manning wanted to see him on his own for a session a week. Laff wasn’t sure why but he’d agreed anyways.

=============================

Toby had to climb over Tim to get to his phone, but he did it and he answered it with what he hoped was a hello but might have been a groggy grunt. Tim muttered at him sleepily, but was back to snoring into his pillow once Toby settled across his back.

“Hey Toby, it’s about midnight or so.. and do you know where your son is right now?”

Toby pondered the question. Laff was calling from Germany to ask where Jamie was? But Laff wasn’t in Germany anymore, he was just down the street. Where was Jamie? Jamie was in bed of course, it was after midnight. Slowly Toby’s brain booted up to make sense of the tidbits.

“Toby? You there?”

Tim yelped as he got pushed out of the bed, hitting the floor and opening his eyes in time to see Toby run out of the room. “What the hell?!” Brian was at work and Tim was enjoying a really deep sleep, now he wasn’t and the floor was freezing. “Toby?”

From deeper in the house he heard a shriek and all feeling of sleepiness vanished.

Struggling free of the blankets because god knows they always had about four or five on the bed at any given time, Tim staggered to his feet and ran. Magically he didn’t run into anything on the way, skidding to a stop at Jamie’s room. “The fuck?”

“I’ll kill him. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to string him up by the cord of his favorite controller and kill him.” Toby dug his fingers into his hair and yanked. “We need to go. We need to go right now.”

“Toby, go _where_? Where’s Jamie?” Tim may not have Omega instincts or Alpha instincts, but dammit he was a Dad and his kid was gone and his mate was spazzing out. “Toby!”

“He went and freaking ambushed Jeff and Laff at their house!”

Stupid, reckless, impulsive boy..

Wonder where he got THAT from.

“Gunna need to send the kid to bootcamp or something,” Tim muttered under his breath as he tried to shove his feet into his boots without socks. “I’ve warned Toby to stop coddling him...”

=============================

Laff was adding more post-it notes to the pages and pages of medical info. He had a dictionary pulled up on his phone for the complicated medical language, which he then wrote down in tiny handwriting on the bright yellow and orange papers. He was extremely thankful that the new Doctor had been thoughtful enough to give them the files in English, Laff would never have managed it in German.

“We need to think about sending some of this stuff back home.”

Jeff made a noncommittal noise from the floor. He was laying in a patch of sunshine, half-dozing in the warmth. His new medications were making him sleepy and lazy, but it was a good sleepy this time, restful. The dark circles were finally clearing up from under his eyes.

“Babe, I’m serious. Doktor Manning said this was probably genetic, shouldn’t they know?”

Jeff cracked an eye open to look at him. “So do it then. Why do you need my permission?”

“It’s pretty personal information, I didn’t want to-”

“L. I’m a medical oddity. I’m featured in science journals and being discussed by committees. Why the fuck would I care if you told more people?”

Laff left the couch and got down on his hands and knees to crawl over to Jeff’s patch of sunshine. He leaned over the smaller man and waited for Jeff to open both eyes. Taking the slight smile as the permission it was, Laff leaned down and gently kissed him.

“Because most people don’t read those science journals and have no idea they exist. A lot fewer people know about you than you think. Toby though, and Tim, and Brian, should know to keep an eye on Jamie. A one in a million chance is still a chance.”

“So do it. Might wanna remove the pictures though. They still creep you out, can’t imagine they’ll take them any better.”

Laff whined from deep in his throat. “No, no pictures from your medical files. Just happy ones. I’ll send them an email later, and start compiling the abridged notes. I’ll ask Doktor Manning what would be the most important for them to look for…”

Jeff tugged on a lock of shaggy black hair to get Laff’s attention. “Later. Take a nap with me.”

“So demanding,” Laff sighed. He rolled over onto his back to share the cushion Jeff had taken from the small couch. Turning his head so he could nuzzle Jeff’s hair and take in the scents of herbal shampoo, the light sweetness of Omega, and the thin thread of cinnamon that was pure Jeff.

The cinnamon had always been an intriguing hint of spice among the blandness Laff got from other Omegas, and now he knew why. Didn’t make a difference in how he felt about Jeff, but it explained a few things.

=============================

The unrepentant teenager sat on the front porch steps and sulked. Laff left the door open, he wasn’t entirely heartless, but for several reasons he’d banned the kid to the cold steps.

One, Jeff was in no way prepared to meet his teenage son in the middle of the night, in the middle of unpacking, before he’d eaten or rested. No. Wasn’t happening. Laff had put his foot down firmly even before Jeff had skittered upstairs..

Two, the situation was going to be tricky enough at the barbeque on Saturday with everyone present in a neutral location. Laff was _not_ having the coming conversation without the permission and presence of Jamie’s parents, crossing those boundaries were unacceptable.

Three, the house being left empty the past year or so had left the place nearly scentless. Jamie was an Alpha, even if a young one. The idea of another Alpha getting his scent all over the house before they’d gotten a chance to settle in made Laff tense.

Of course this meant when Toby came charging across the street and yard, Jamie got the full blast of Worried Omega without any back up.

“What the HELL do you think you’re doing?”

“I just wanted to meet them,” sullenly with his shoulders hunched up to his ears.

“You’re gunna meet them! Dammit Jamie, we talked about this!”

Tim was pretty sure things were about to go down and nobody was going to be leaving happy. Toby was furious, more so than when Jamie has flushed all their phones down the toilet as a preschooler. “Hey, co-”

Then it happened.

“You aren’t my real mom, I want to talk to _him_!”

Toby shrank back looking like he’s been slapped with a fish. Shocked, appalled, had no idea what to do about it.. And hurt. Very hurt.

“Whoa, whoa,” Tim stepped in front of his Omega. “Time out. That was cruel and uncalled for, and you know that James Harrison Rogers. Get your ass home before you make it even worse.”

The teenager ducked his head down, eyes glaring up at them. “I’m not leaving until I talk to him.”

The problem here was that Jamie had been raised by an Omega and his two Betas. Good guys, all of them. Fairly laid back and willing to work out problems by talking through them and pointing out the pro’s and con’s of certain actions. As parents they had been fairly successful- Jamie was intelligent, good looking, and popular among his school friends. Being only sixteen, other than some schoolboy roughhousing he’d not yet had to deal with an Alpha who felt threatened by him. Nor did he truly understand the territorial instinct most Alphas had.

Jamie was woefully unprepared for Laughing Jack.

You know that feeling of something big and dangerous lurking behind you? Yeah that. Jamie looked back over his shoulder and felt his blood run cold. Laff had left the door open, switching his attention between his mate upstairs and the kid on the porch. He’d very clearly heard Jamie’s comments and he was not a happy Alpha.

Jamie got a few seconds to see Jack stalking towards him when things turned upside down. Ears ringing, it took him a breath or two to realize he’d been knocked clear off the porch and onto the grass.

When the ringing stopped he could hear his Mom whining in low, unhappy tones, but Jamie was more concerned about the almost inaudible growling that was a little closer and a lot more dangerous. The left side of his face started to feel warm where his sire had belted him, and for someone who almost never got spanked as a child, it was pretty shocking.

The world tilted again as Jamie was roughly hauled back to his feet, brought nose to nose with the much taller, much stronger, much angrier Alpha. “You _ever_ say that again, I will beat your ass black and blue. Those are your parents and you will treat them with _respect_.”

As his knees threatened to buckle, Jamie tried to rally his cowering Alpha brain cells. No one said being a teenager meant you were smart. “You can’t tell me- “

“This is _my_ house, this is _my_ property. _You_ are trespassing and I can do whatever the hell I want. Test me. I _dare_ you.”

They were, Jamie suddenly realized, at the edge of the yard where the sidewalk began. He had no idea how they got there. Jack let go of his sweatshirt and pushed him away, making the boy stumble as he hit the curb marking the street.

His Mom was still over by the porch, Dad beside him and watching the events with pained expressions. Toby flinched when the door to the house slammed shut, but instead of walking towards Jamie, like the youth expected him to, the Omega turned away and walked home.

Jamie couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong. He’d just wanted to talk! He was tired of being limited to emails, or the rare phone call. This was his mother, his _real_ mother, how could he not want to know Jamie?

=============================

If there was one thing Germany did well, it was its winter festivals. The food, the music, the parades, the crafts… It was amazing. Jeff was having the time of his life even if he’d been bundled up in a million layers of scarves and coats.

“Alright, so that’s Jane done with…” Laff added the sparkling necklace to their other purchases.

“Who’s left?”

“Uhhh… Let’s see… Liu, Brian, Tim, Jane’s girlfriend, Ben and his new guy.. Are we sending anything to your mother this year?”

“Liu will take care of it.”

Laff counted people, using a finger for each person. “...No I think that’s it. Going to cost a fortune to mail all this out, but I think we can skip birthdays now. They’ll understand.”

Something niggled at the back of Jeff’s mind. He picked up a handmade Krampus doll and frowned at it while he tried to remember. “What are you getting me?”

“My continued love and devotion, with a big sprinkling of patience and toleration.”

“Cheapskate.” He waited for Laff to turn away with noises about looking for the cocoa stand, and Jeff handed a couple bills to the woman running the booth. He tucked the doll inside his coat. Only needed a little modifying and it would be perfect.

Dodging around a stroller the size of a small car, that niggling feeling came back. But it wasn’t until he tracked L and his cups of steaming hot cocoa, that Jeff realized what it was. It wasn’t the cocoa tha jogged his memory, it was the booth of knitted baby clothes and pieced together quilts.

“Shit. We forgot the baby.”

“...oh. Oh you’re right.” Laff blinked a couple times. “I don’t think he’s a baby anymore though.”

“He’s.. what.. five now? Just find him something that moves or makes noise.”

Laff used the edge of his cup to scratch his nose, what with his other hand full of bags. “Remember that booth with the Jack in the Boxes? Those were neat.”

“There you go. Send the kid a clown and traumatize him for life, problem solved.”

=============================

The front door had been propped open with a brick, so Liu took it as an invitation to walk straight inside. Taking off his coat but failing to find a hook for it, he draped it over the railing to the upstairs.

No need to ask where Jeff was, all he had to do was follow the noise. A steady thwack, thwack, thwack from upstairs. Boxes were everywhere still, some from storage and some from Germany. Easy to tell which was which, the German ones had labels in, surprise!, German.

He found his brother in what had once been a nursery, using a massive hammer to take down one of the walls. There was shattered bits of drywall everywhere, and some wooden posts that had been inside the wall. Tacked up next to the door were two sets of plans, one of the rooms before the wall had been broken up, and what looked like plans for the new, much larger room.

He supposed that was so Jeff didn't accidentally take out any load-bearing posts.

The last memory Liu had of his brother, in person, was him walking off into the airport with Laff. Too pale, too thin, swaying in a light breeze..

This Jeff was much closer to what Liu wanted to remember him as. Which at the moment was a determined, hammer-wielding Omega destroying his house. The ear plugs meant Jeff hadn’t heard him enter the house or come up the stairs, but as Liu stood there he could tell when Jeff scented him.

More bits of drywall fluttered to the floor when Jeff pulled off the safety goggles and earplugs.

“Oi, who let you in?”

“Myself, since you left the front door wide open. You’re looking pretty good there Jeff, does Laff know you’re wrecking the house he spent so much money on? Twice?”

Jeff rolled his eyes. He dropped the sledgehammer to the floor and ignored the giant dent it left in the floorboards. “Shut your damn mouth and come here.”

Liu could count the number of times he had hugged his brother, but this one was lacking the usual undertone of resentment. It was surprisingly nice. “You look like a hobo.”

“Wanna join me? I have beer.”

“Just the beer thanks. I have to go back to work semi-presentable.” Even as he tried to brush off the plaster dust and flecks gained from the hug.

The kitchen was all but barren. There was beer, left-over pizza, and a couple boxes of cereal and a lonely gallon of milk in the fridge. Dishware were still being stored in bins under the table rather than the cabinets, but you didn’t need a plate for cold pizza.

“So you’re back in the states now. They finally threw you out?”

“Hah. No, it was just.. time. This is home.”

Liu sipped his beer, watching Jeff nibble on his pizza. The long scar that ran from his wrist to his elbow was hard to miss. “Where’s Laff?”

“Grocery shopping. As you can see, we’re a little low on some supplies.” Jeff grinned suddenly. “Do you know how weird it is to hear people call him Laff again? The nickname thing got confusing over there, everyone just called him Jack. I was always having to explain why I called him L.”

Liu knew in the back of his head that he was badly overstepping, but he reached out to take Jeff’s hand anyways. He turned it over and ran the fingers of his other hand over the scar. It was old and pale, but he could feel the ridge of scar tissue.

He didn’t ask. Warm fuzzy feelings only took you so far in a relationship like theirs, even if they had both matured over the years.

“Heard the kid came by,” releasing Jeff’s arm and retreating back to his side of the table.

Jeff flexed his hand a few times, eyeing the scar himself. “Fucking brat decided the weekend was too far away and snuck out of the house. Laff clocked him a good one he said, for mouthing off at Toby about it. Jesus Christ we just got home and things are already trying to go ass-backwards.”

“He’s in that rebellious stage, and presenting as an Alpha hasn’t helped. Jamie’s a good kid most of the time, but that headstrong streak is pretty rough on the people around him. And that’s without adding in the family stuff..”

Jeff grimaced. “You’re saying we should have stayed in Germany.”

“That’s not what I said at all, don’t put words into my mouth,” Liu scowled, hackles rising. A beat of silence fell between them, and Liu deflated slowly as he rubbed a hand over his mouth. “God this brings back memories.. It’s good to see you, Jeff. Really. The video-calls were nice, but they just don’t have that special touch of making me want to tear out my hair.”

Jeff clinked his bottle against Liu’s with a small smile. “Just hold on to that feeling for a while, I think the next few weeks are going to get bumpy. Kid’s gunna push all the wrong buttons I can tell you that much.”

Liu sighed. “Well, if we screw him up, we know where to send him for therapy.”

=============================

The Doctors has assured him, over and over, that the surgery was a very simple procedure. Jeff would be in and out in an hour or two, and he’d be able to go home the next day.

It would be nowhere near the same as last time, they insisted. Even walked him through the process.

And yes, Laff could see the differences. Previously there had been a dozen machines and wires and beeps and boops that created a cacophony of sound, incomprehensible to everyone but the annoyed nurses. Here, Jeff was sleeping soundly amid the single heart monitor’s very soft, subtle beep that rose and fell in perfect rhythm. Where previously Jeff had been deathly pale, lips tinged blue, here he was tanned from all the time spent outside.

And Laff couldn’t _breath_. He struggled with the tightness in his chest, to make his lungs fill with air, letting it out in long, strangled sighs.

The room was gently lit and comfortable. No hospital bed with starched sheets and metal railings. More homey, with soft fabrics and comfortable mattresses. The walls were painted a soothing pale green and a white-noise machine by the door kept other sounds at bay.

This was Jeff’s personally assigned room, there were no scents of other sick Omegas or chemicals to churn the stomach.

Everything was good. Everything was fine.

And yet here was Laff having a panic attack. Leaned over his knees and trying to take in slow, deep breaths. He started to time them with the soft beeps of Jeff’s heart, in for four and hold and out for four..

The blasted Doctors back home had at least been smart enough to realize that there was no way Jeff could give birth naturally, that the only way to get the baby out while still breathing was by cesarean. That’s all they had been worried about, a healthy baby with ten pink toes and ten pink fingers.

He wasn’t sure Jeff had ever noticed that the alarm clock had vanished from the bedroom. Laff preferred to use his phone now, using random songs to wake him up instead. Being woken up by the smoke alarm when Jeff had tried to make them both breakfast before the surgery.. He’d hidden in the shower until his hands stopped shaking, because he couldn’t have Jeff worrying about him. Not now. Not when things were going so well.

Laff just needed to breath.

In.

And out.

=============================

Jeff never had been much of a cook, but he could order chinese with the best of them. Just needed to figure out where L had run off to now so they could eat..

He found Laff laying in the bedroom, which on most occasions meant fun things were about to happen. Not so much this time, going by the look of things. The lanky Alpha was stretched out on the bed, yes, but still fully dressed and staring up at the ceiling in contemplation, hands folded behind his head.

Climbing up onto the bed, Jeff rolled onto his back to lay next to him and stare at the ceiling too.

“Interview not what you expected?”

“Mm? No.. no it was fine. They want me to come back on Monday for a few hours, meet the rest of the guys. Get a feel for each other before we start signing contracts...”

“Great. Sounds good.”

They laid there silently for another couple of breaths.

“Talk to me L.”

“I gave Jamie a black eye.”

Crap. That conversation. Jeff tried not to squirm too much in discomfort. He aimed for the calm serenity of Doktor Manning and his leading questions to make Jeff verbalize his thoughts.

“..how do you feel about that?”

Laff groaned. “He’s just a kid. I am not a violent Alpha and I’ve always prided myself on that, and now I’m backhanding kids for being snotty.”

Jeff shrugged a shoulder. “He’s a teenager. All teenagers need to get smacked around once in a while, they’re assholes. Pretty sure you won’t go drop kicking toddlers any time soon.”

“That’s.. not helpful..” Laff rolled over onto his side and tugged Jeff closer, tucking the dark head under his chin. “Sorry Babe, I know I’m being weird about it.”

Boxed in by the Alpha’s long arms, Jeff sighed. “No, you’re fine. Things _are_ a little off right now, and snotty teenagers aren’t helping things. He doesn’t even register as family and that’s a little fucked up.”

“He will, eventually. As our nephew. If Liu can do it so can we.”

“I guess… Hey. Wasn’t I was supposed to be comforting you? You child Smacker.”

Laff chuckled, manhandling Jeff so that his back was pressed to L’s chest and could wrap around him tightly. “I think I wouldn’t have smacked him so hard if he hadn’t been sitting there on _my_ doorstep, puffing out his baby Alpha chest and demanding to speak to _my_ bondmate.”

“Me freaking out on you probably didn’t help.”

“Well.. no… but he hurt Toby and with that on top of everything else, I was seeing red. He wasn’t a kid at that moment, he was this strange Alpha trying to stake a claim he didn’t deserve. Threw him off the property too.”

“If you’d actually hurt him we’d have heard by now. Prob’ly just shocked the hell out of him.”

“Mmm.. true. How are you feeling?”

Thrown by the change in topics, Jeff took a long moment to respond. “...fine?”

“You’ve been very subdued lately. Just because we’re back in the states doesn’t mean you should be repres-”

“L, I have never repressed anything in my goddamn life. If I wanted to go all Alpha on the kid and kick his ass for upsetting you, believe me you’d know it. I’m fine. Promise. I’m just… adjusting I guess. Manning is having problems getting a psychiatrist in the right time zone for me and that’s not.. shit.”

Laff sat up, withdrawing from Jeff completely to stare down at him. “What happened to the first one? O’Reilly? That was set up before we even _left_!”

“Fuck.” Jeff pressed a hand over his eyes for a moment. “Complications. Don’t freak out, it’s fine. I have Nathan and Pup’s numbers and if I get too jittery I’ll call one of them.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me?” Laff growled. Planting his hands on the bed on either side of Jeff’s head, he loomed over his Omega, trapping him. “That’s important Jeff!”

Jeff glared up at him, teeth bared in a snarl to the show of dominance. “I was going to! I don’t keep secrets from you, I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I did it. Excuse me for worrying!”

Laff sighed, sitting back on his heels and out of Jeff’s face. Jeff was still stuck in place with Laff sitting on his legs but now he could breath at least. Jeff coughed out a light laugh and “too passive you said…”

“Oh shut up. Come on,” Laff swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood with a hand held out. “You need to eat so you can take your meds, I need to eat so I don’t pass out at the barbeque tomorrow.”

“I don’t know, could be fun to watch..” Jeff took the hand, rolling his shoulders to stretch out his back once upright. “I’m sorry I’m still screwed up.”

Leaning down to plant a kiss on Jeff’s forehead, “don’t apologize for that. I like you as you are so never change.”

=============================

It had been six weeks since he’d been operated on, and this was the stupidest sentence Jeff had never thought he’d say.

“Condoms aren’t biodegradable,” Jeff repeated flatly.

Laff winced, reaching up to run fingers through his hair. “We’ve… got to think of the planet right? Recycling and all that. Condoms aren’t.. they fill up the landfills.”

Jeff stared at him. Speaking slowly and carefully as if speaking to a small child, “I had a hysterectomy. I can’t get pregnant. Why the _fuck_ are you worried about condoms?”

Laff winced again. He returned his hands to the table and wrapped them around his coffee cup. “Jeff…”

Jeff slammed his own hands against the table top, making everything rattle. “I’m healed! I’m _fine_!”

When Laff didn’t look up, Jeff felt his blood run cold. “You don’t.. you don’t want me anymore?”

“No!” L stood up so fast that his chair toppled over. He came around the table to where Jeff was standing and tried to take his hand. Only to have it wrenched away as Jeff stepped aside. “Babe, no. That’s not it. It’s just…”

“Just what? You can’t stand to touch me? ‘cause I’m weak? Because I’m fucked up? _What_?”

Laff moved slowly this time, and while Jeff leaned away from the touch, he eventually allowed his face to be gently cupped by the larger man’s hands. “Babe.. I love you. You know how much I love you. I couldn’t survive without you by my side. But you don’t understand how fragile you are.”

He tightened his grip as Jeff tried to toss his head, hands coming up to push the Alpha away.

“Fuck you L.”

“Jeff, you _died_.” Laff felt his throat tighten, and he had to swallow a few times to make the feeling go away before repeating, “you died.” He took advantage of Jeff going still to wrap his arms around him, drawing him closer and pressing his nose into Jeff’s hair. “You were dead and there was nothing I could have done about it.”

Whatever comment Jeff had had on the tip of his tongue, was bitten back as he felt the Alpha start to tremble. He wrapped his arms around Laff’s waist and tightened his grip as the trembling turned into shaking. “Shh.. shhh.. It’s alright, you can relax now. I’m not going anywhere,” Jeff told him softly. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Laff made a sound that could have been a laugh. Or a sob. “I know, but… I forgot. I forgot and then you were laying there and now it’s all I can remember. You were so, so fragile. You came home like a ghost and I had to go to work and _you weren’t getting better_.”

Jeff ran his hands over Laff’s back soothingly. “But I am. I’m good now. Things might be a little weird, but I’m okay. No more surgeries, no more hospital beds.”

They ended up on the floor, Jeff coaxing Laff’s head onto his lap to run his fingers through the long hair and rub soothing circles on his shoulders. Would have been more comfortable in the living room or bedroom, but Laff needed him here and now and Jeff wasn’t going to fight it.

“Shh… you’re okay. We’re okay.”

=============================

“Oh my god you look amazing!”

Toby threw his arms around Jeff and hugged him tightly. He happily ignored the irritated grumble and waited until Jeff hugged him back before releasing him.

“Look at you! I don’t think you’ve looked this good since you and Jane opened the Field!”

“Yeah well, we did a lot of biking and hiking in Germany. L wants to set up a home-gym so both of us can keep it up.”

Toby waggled his eyebrows at the last bit, but there was no time for dick jokes, they had so much to talk about! A million and one things to share before they got into the meat of things. “God I’m even looking forward to hearing that growling beast of yours in the morning. You did keep it right? Did it survive the long storage?”

Jeff shook his head, letting Toby lead the way to the cooler on the picnic table so he could swipe a beer. “I should have sold the damn thing before we left, but L knew how much it meant to me.. It needs a massive overhaul. Gaskets, fuel, battery… all the fiddly things that have cracked and rotted. Who knows when I’ll be able to ride it again. Still gotta get my license renewed.. Ugh. I’m never moving again. Fuck all of this.”

“If you’d come home sooner, it prob’ly wouldn’t have been such a hassle,” Toby pointed out cheerfully.

‘If we’d come back sooner we wouldn’t have been able to move back into the neighborhood. The house only went up for sale again last year,” wrinkling his nose. Being able to move home, into their house and their neighborhood, that had been the boost they needed. Place was a fucking mess, but that was honestly a good thing.

Jeff had loved Germany, but as he’d told Liu, this was home.

“Thank god. The previous set were driving us all nuts. Super conventional and super religious. I think they hated us just as much as we hated them.”

“Yeah, I remember Liu telling me about them. Where is the bastard anyways?”

“Late. He got saddled with some last minute paperwork and he’s gunna be here in time for burgers. Maybe.”

It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for a barbecue in the park. A neutral space for all parties, especially out on the edges of the park away from the playground or stage. One could still faintly hear the screaming children as they played in the sandboxes and swings, but it was easily drowned out by the small radio Brian had set up near the grill. The lake was absolutely sparkling in the sunshine.

“I can’t believe you guys brought _that_ monster.”

“Tim hates the park ones..” Toby laughed. The large silvery colored grill had been a bitch and a half to get into the back of the truck, and out of it, but at least they’d have some really good food to go with their.. pow-wow? War plan? Whatever.

Speaking of monsters… Toby turned his head to see if Jamie was still sulking under the tree. He could just barely see the teenager’s shoes, so yeah he was still there. Playing on his phone as usual.

Turning his head the other way, it wasn’t hard to see what Jamie would look like as an adult. He and Laff had the same long legs and loping gait, the Alpha jogging back from the parking lot where he’d had to retrieve Jeff’s phone.

“......can I send Brian and Tim to Germany for a little while?”

“Stop drooling Tobs. That’s mine.”

“Mmmm but I can look right?”

Jeff shoved him away with a grin. He accepted his phone from Laff, making a demanding little growl to get a kiss.

Laff growled back but leaned down to peck at Jeff’s lips. “You’re not supposed to be drinking.”

“Stop mother henning, not like one beer will kill me. Go talk to Brian and get out of my hair.”

Laff stepped in closer, eyes narrowing as he stared down at Jeff. Jeff had to crane his head back but glared back. “It’s _one_ beer, don’t be a- jesus fuck PUT ME DOWN”!

Laff hoisted Jeff up over his shoulder, and with a smirk at Toby he announced- “we’ll be right back.”

“...sure.” Toby tilted his head to the side as he watched them leave, a little confused. Oh. Oh no. He _wouldn’t_. Toby burst out laughing as Laff took Jeff all the way to the edge of the lake and _tossed him in_.

He seated himself on the picnic table and watched in delight as his friends started to play, getting soaked and (going by the dirty looks of the families paddling around) using language that really shouldn’t be used around small children.

Looking for his Betas, Toby gestured for them to come over. “Look! Look!”

“Now that’s something I remember,” Brian hummed.

“Did we bring any towels? I hope they remembered to leave their phones behind…”

Toby just grinned.

“I don’t get it.”

Toby looped an arm over Jamie’s shoulders as the teen popped up, something he hadn’t been able to do for a while ever since the teen had grown a pair of stilts instead of legs. For now though, the picnic table put him at the perfect height to cuddle his son close. “They used to fight a lot. All the time. It was like watching a soap opera in the flesh. We used to take bets on how long Laff would go before Jeff could get him to lose his temper and-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Brian warned.

Toby giggled.

“But he’s an Omega. Isn’t that… unnatural, for him to pick fights?”

“Well this is going to be fun,” Tim decided after an uncomfortable silence. “Kiddo, go see if we have any towels back in the car. Scoot.”

=============================

The countryside of Germany was full of many delightful views.

Laff couldn’t have been more interested in viewing the sweaty, panting mess that was Jeffrey Woods. Long strands of hair straggling over his eyes, skin flushed a healthy pink, the sweat trickling down the side of his face..

Doktor Manning had insisted Jeff needed more exercise now to build up his strength. Laff fully endorsed this, because it meant Jeff was feeling good enough _to_ exercise.. but he’d not thought about how distracting it could be.

Glancing up and catching the look on the Alphas face, Jeff held up a finger in warning. “Don’t you dare touch me right now.”

The I-want sound Laff made could have been embarrassing, but he didn’t care at the moment. He inched closer to where Jeff was sitting on the grass, holding out his water bottle as an excuse.

Jeff glared at him. He had to stand up to swipe the bottle, and at the same time step to the side to put more distance between them. “Don’t even think about it L. We just biked two miles and I am so not in the damn mood. It’s too fucking hot.”

“Just a kiss? One little kiss? A very small, very quick kiss?” Laff wheedled as he tried to edge closer again. “It would hardly take a second.”

Jaff shoved the water bottle into his hands. “Get a move on, Chuckles. It’s two miles back to town.”

It was a weekday, that meant the park was nearly empty of people. Too far out for families with small children or the tourists looking for knickknacks, it was just him and Jeff as they paused before the return home. All alone. How… frustrating.

“We can take a break you know, you shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard. A nice long rest and some relaxing and…”

“And some heavy petting? Fucking pervert.” Jeff side-stepped him again, sliding his borrowed bike between them. “Keep your paws to yourself until we’re home.”

“Babe.. Baby… Love of my life… there’s nobody here to see us...”

Jeff growled at him, a low rumble that started in his chest.

Laff could have growled back, but instead he drew out a throaty purr that made Jeff pause, eyes going wide.

“When the _fuck_ did you learn that?”

Looking very pleased with himself, “from the other guys at the Hospital, while you were in a therapy session. Took a while to get it right, but worth it no?”

“....right. Ok then.” Jeff stared at him for a long moment. “....aw hell. Take your shirt off.”

“I thought you’d never ask!”

They may not have gotten ticketed for Indecent Behavior in Public, but Jeff knew they’d come pretty damn close to it. Technically they had been still mostly dressed when the.. whatever they called policemen in Germany.. found them. Mostly.

=============================

“Why my house? You have your own. Go there.”

“We’re renovating and it’s a pig stye. Chill the hell out Liu, this won’t take long.”

The Alpha grumbled but let the matter slide. “Where’s Laff? I feel like I only ever get to see you.”

“Home. Talk about pig stye, whatever the last family was using the basement for completely wrecked the place. We’re going to be living on the streets soon if the place doesn’t stop crumbling around us.” Jeff flung a leg over the side of the arm chair, comfortably slouched into the cushions.

“Stop ruining my furniture.”

In response, Jeff wiggled his shoulders deeper into the fabric and cushion, making sure to grind his scent into it. “Mine now bitch.”

Liu growled half-heartedly. “When’s the kid supposed to be here?”

“Any moment. Stop fretting and go.. do something. Get out of my hair.”

Before Liu could do more than narrow his eyes at the challenge, the doorbell rang. “I hope he asks you where babies come from,” the brown-haired man grumbled as he went to let him in.

As he waited Jeff tried to remember what their mother had said about that topic… something about baking. Jeff was pretty sure he remembered him and Liu trying to bake a baby sister out of cake mix on a sunday they’d been left to their own devices. Eh.

Jamie eased into the room cautiously, as if he thought Jeff was going to come over and smack him again.

Poor kid, he’d been getting that a lot lately. But then, the brat needed to stop sneaking up on people. Jeff had no regrets about the Barbeque.

“Okay, ground rules.” Jeff started, wanting to be clear. “You stay out of my face and we won’t have a problem. You’re too damn big to be looming over people like you have been, so knock it the fuck off.”

Jamie, and good god did he look like Laff, pouted. “But how am I supposed to sce-”

“Nope. Stop right there. You go trying to scent random strangers and they’ll do a lot worse than smack you.”

“But you’re my _mo_ -”

“Start that up again and I’ll leave,” Jeff bared his teeth. He swung his leg back over the arm to set both feet on the floor. “Toby is your mother. He raised you, fed you, clothed you, loved you. Don’t you dare try to tell me, a complete stranger to you, that I matter more than your mother.”

“But you _are_! You gave birth to me!” Jamie didn’t sit down, leaning towards Jeff as if he was holding himself back from getting closer. “You could have sent for me. I could have helped Jack with.. whatever it was you were doing. We could have been together like we should have been!”

“You have a family! You have a mom and two dads, an uncle, and a damnably nosey grandmother. You have a million friends. What the fuck do you need me for?”

“You’re my blood! You’re my _mom_. Everyone knows Omegas love kids and you’re supposed to love your own _even more_!”

Jeff dropped his head into his hands. This was it. His worst nightmare. Everything he didn’t want to talk about bundled up into one lanky, slightly pimply, teenage Alpha brainwashed by society.

=============================

“I don’t WANT to talk about my family,” Jeff half yelled in exasperation. “Haven't we talked enough already? Mom had no idea what to do with us, Dad’s dead. Liu tried his best and is semi-tolerable most of the time. What else is there?”

Casting his eyes up, Laff didn’t really want to say it when Jeff was already losing it.

“Well.. Jamie?”

“If you want to talk about your son so badly, go out and find a new omega and get one.” Jeff snarled.

Laff pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jeff..”

“No! If you want to keep calling him your son, then leave me out of it. He’s _Toby’s_ son. Not mine. Go back to America and bond with _Toby_ if you feel so strongly about it!”

Doktor Manning cleared his throat and Jeff turned on him now. “Fuck this! You want to hear about the baby? Fine. I got sick, I got pregnant, I gave it up. _That’s it_. That’s all I fucking care about.”

“Then why are you so angry?” the Doktor wondered.

“Because everyone keeps calling him my son! He’s _not_. What was the fucking point of the adoption then? Might as well throw us in jail for child neglect considering we left him _several thousand miles_ away!”

Uncharacteristically, Laff snapped back. “You birthed him. It’s a part of your history and a part of why you’re all messed up. _Yes_ , you were sick before you got pregnant. _No_ , the pregnancy didn’t help as much as they thought it would. But you still gave birth and you have PTSD about the whole fucking mess so sit down and _let us help_!”

Jeff slowly sat back down into his chair, eyes wide.

“I don’t..”

“You won’t even look at a baby without getting snappy or anxious. We passed a family on the way to the park yesterday and you all but climbed a tree to get away from them. Children scare you half to death and that’s _okay_. But you can’t function like this. You know this.”

Jeff curled in on himself, letting his hair fall down over his face. Laff’s chair creaked as he leaned over and ran his fingers through the long strands. “It’s okay. I promise. But you have to talk about this, Babe. Didn’t you convince me to start taking the anti-anxiety pills? Not very different from this.”

“You were freaking out over the trains beeping,” Jeff muttered.

‘Like I said. Not that different.”

“You don’t understand. It was like being taken over by some sort of alien. It would move and kick at random times. Nobody cared what I was going through, they just wanted to make sure the creature inside me was okay.”

Laff continued to stroke his hair, not trying to clear it out of Jeff’s face but letting him keep hiding behind it.

“I think of the baby, and I think of pain and nausea and wanting to die. I don’t want to connect Toby’s son to all that. Don’t you see?” Jeff pleaded. “He can’t be my son and be Toby’s son at the same time. One’s just a kid. The other’s a monster.”

“But it's not just Jamie. It’s the other kids too,” Laff reminded him gently. “Leave the monster in the past where he belongs. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

=============================

“You gunna be okay getting home?” Liu asked gently.

Jeff pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head, pulling it down low over his forehead. “Yeah. Let Laff know I’m on my way.”

Liu’s lips twisted into an unhappy shape. “I should walk with you.”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” His nerves felt scraped raw and bleeding from the conversation. He needed.. time. Some time to himself. Yeah.

“Don’t do a-”

“Jesus Liu, I’m not going to go slit my wrists again. Just back off and leave me be. I’m going home, where I’ll tell L what happened, call my Therapist, and pop a few pills to help me sleep. I’m going to be a good little boy and do everything I’m supposed to do. What the fuck have I been going to therapy all these years for if not for this stupid shit?”

Liu held up his hands, leaning away from Jeff. “Okay, okay. I’ll text Laff and deal with Toby if he calls. Get some rest.”

“Sorry about the table,” Jeff muttered as he left. He’d pay Liu back later. He hadn’t meant to break it but goddamn this had been frustrating. No sign of Jamie outside, good. Either Jeff had waited long enough or the kid had sprinted back home.

Nothing like a broken heart to make you want to avoid people.

_Didn’t you miss me?_

_~~I don’t even remember bringing you home.~~ I was sick and in pain, that entire year is a blur to me. I know you from pictures and Toby’s emails, nothing more. _

_Why didn’t you send for me?_

_~~I didn’t want you.~~ You deserved better than what we could give you. We were practically living in the hospital for years at a time, there was no place for a child._

_I thought you’d come back for me!_

_~~Stop being selfish!~~ We did come back, and we will be family eventually. I just won’t be your mother, that’s Toby’s job. He loves you so much and you’re hurting him by insisting otherwise._

Jeff’s teeth hurt from biting back so many comments. This hadn’t been the time to be the petulant child L so often accused him of being. This hadn’t been the time for snarky comments and bluntness, not when even the sugar-coated truth was going to hurt like hell. Jeff didn’t need to make it worse by being an asshole for once.

The cool air outside was nice. Felt like it had been hours, but checking his phone it had been barely two.

Laff was sitting on the stairs to the upper floor when Jeff let himself in, and he watched Jeff take off his coat and shoes with solemn eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Drained.”

“I could have gone with you.”

“No. You’d have gotten riled up by me getting upset, and then you’d upset the kid, and he’d make me mad, and it would be one big circle jerk of infuriating nonsense. Liu was there. That was enough.”

Laff didn’t look like he believed any of that, but kept from disagreeing. “What do you need?”

Jeff appreciated the caution, his skin felt like glass and with one wrong touch he’d shatter. he looked up at the ceiling and ran his tongue over his teeth as he tried to give the question as much consideration as he was able to.

What did he need?

“I.. I don’t know. I’m too unsettled to nest, too jittery to fool around.”

He’d not meant to make the kid cry. He hadn’t. They were just too fucking similar.

“Do you want to take a sedative?” Laff asked gently.

“....yeah. I told Liu I would. After I called my therapist, anyways.”

Laff held out his hands and waited for Jeff to come to him. He didn’t pull him any closer, just held his hands for a moment, thumbs making small circles against Jeff’s palms. “Do you want to sleep out here, or in the bedroom?”

“Out here. I don’t want to be closed in right now.”

“Alright. Make your call, I’ll make some cocoa.”

Jeff grabbed a fistful of Laff’s shirt as he made to go past him to the kitchen. “Laff… I..”

Now the taller Alpha allowed himself to curl his arms around Jeff in a hug, not too tightly in case he needed to break away. “I’m here.”

=============================

Jeff’s therapist, Doktor Sven Manning, not only liked to see Jeff on his own but considered it just as important for Laff to be present on some occasions. After all, this wasn’t just Jeff being affected by all the changes in his life. It was usually very enlightening for all parties involved, even if Jeff decided to be an ass about the whole thing.

The sheer size difference between them made it hard for Laff not to loom over Jeff, but he carefully bit back a growl as he scowled down at him. He’d only asked.

“It’s all in the body language,” coached the Doktor. A tall, thin man with pale eyes and paler skin. “See how he’s ducked his head down to glare up at you? That’s an Alpha move, not an Omega.”

Jeff turned to glare at the doctor, chin nearly tucked against his chest.

“Because you’re used to thinking of him as merely an Omega, you’ve been thinking of this movement as him being stubborn. He’s not. He’s feeling threatened by you and wants control of the situation.”

“I am _not_ -”

“Honesty, Jeffrey. This therapy will not work if you won’t be honest with us and yourself. Though this itself is another Alpha tendency, to bite back when feeling weak.”

Jeff growled. It was a sulky, gravely sound but better than the wispy sound he’d tried earlier.

It was the cutest damn thing Laff had ever seen and he had to hold back from grabbing his Mate and cuddling him senseless. Clearing his throat, “so… what do I do then?”

“Well at this point, you could either press on with your intentions and make him submit to you, or you could take a step back and make yourself as non-threatening as possible. Give him space. Until his hormones balance out he might switch between the two at random and without cause. I’ve observed that you two have a very close bond so it may not be as difficult as you fear, merely.. tricky.”

Laff grinned, watching from the corners of his eyes as Jeff’s glare faded into a mere sulk. “Nothing I haven’t handled before in that case. He’s always been known to be difficult among his family and friends.”

Doktor Manning was a professional and ignored Jeff as he flipped off the taller Alpha. “He’ll still be difficult, as you put it, but at least you’ll understand why he’s being so and work with it and not against it. However,” and he waited till he had both their attention.

“While you both need to acustom yourselves to Jeffrey’s Alpha tendencies, you can not ignore his Omega needs. You need to find a balance between the two or he’ll end up just as sick as before.”

“How?”

“It all comes down to what will make him the most comfortable. If he’s feeling overwhelmed he might want to nest in a place he feels safe. If he’s feeling a loss of control, a playful fight might work better to settle his nerves.”

“A _playful_ fight?” Laff asked dryly.

“I’m sure you two can learn ways to fight without actually hurting each other. Wrestling, chasing, whatever you two can do to work out some aggression without letting it turn hostile.”

Eyeing Laff out of the corner of his eye, Jeff commented “...sounds kind of fun. What say you, Alpha? Wanna lose a fight or two?”

Laff eyed him back. “You think I’d lose?”

Slowly starting to grin, Jeff nodded. “It’s for therapy L. You wouldn’t want me to be all sad and mopey right? That means you have to let me win,” Jeff needled.

Laff snorted. “Hardly, _Omega_.”

Jeff stuck his tongue out at him.

“Does this mean you’ve decided on your status?” The Doktor interrupted before the pair could start bickering again. Refreshing as it was, obviously these two needed no course on how to argue in a healthy fashion. Lord knows they did it often enough.

Jeff made a face. “What’s the use in changing it? If I said I was Alpha, I’d be seen as weird. If I stick with Omega, then I’m still seen as weird. It’ll be easier on L if I stick with the Omega tag, and since he’s the one that has to deal with me and knows better, who the fuck cares what other people think.”

“I see. And what will you tell your family?”

“Eh. We sent them the info years back, and they’ve been getting Jamie checked up every so often just in case. They know I’m scre- special.” Jeff rolled his eyes.

=============================

The video clip started with a shaky panning of a backyard covered in snow, small flakes drifting down from the thick clouds above. The phone-lens zoomed in and focused on a short man in the middle of the yard, hood to his parka tossed back and bare face lifted to the sky.

“Winter started a bit early here, as you can see,” a low voice whispered. “The house came with a fireplace though and it’s not too bad. Even Jeff is getting in the holiday mood!”

The man in the yard turned towards the camera now, and bent over to scoop up some snow. The view tilted a bit and some of the yard was obscured by fingers.

“Not the phone, not the pho-”

The video clip ended.

The next clip was louder, lots of people yelling and cheering in German. It was a parade of some sort, floats with lights and people throwing candy drifted through the frame. Winter again, going by the thick coats and scarves.

A different voice now, not so deep- “aaand there he is. Dork.”

Strolling down the street carrying chains and big sticks came a horde of monsters, men dressed in shaggy furrs and masks, antlers and glowing eyes and long fangs but in a dozen different ways. One of the tallest monster-men approached the camera (or the man holding the phone) and growled right into it before dissolving into laughter.

Jamie passed over the next few videos, pulling up the photos instead,

Jeff, rifle over his shoulder and feet planted firmly on the ground. His paintball gear was pitch black but for some red writing across the chest. Helmet at his feet, his pale blues stared intensely at the camera and Jamie would almost swear they followed him when he moved.

Jack, or Laughing Jack, seated at a desk and leaned over a sheet of paper. Brightly colored markers and pens littered the top of the desk as he sketched out what look like a design for a tattoo sleeve. The image was tilted to put the viewer slightly behind Jack where, since he was wearing a white tank top, one could clearly see the bold colors and lines covering his back.

These two used to be Jamie’s favorites. They seemed to speak more of what his blood-parents were like than the prettily posed ones. But even so.. they were nothing what Jamie had imagined them to be. Which wasn’t his fault, he’d never been allowed to know them! Resentment burned in his chest as he remembered Toby flat out refusing to let him call his parents. They had to call first.

“Jamie! We’re leaving!”

The teenager ignored the call. What did he care? It was just a movie.

“Jamie!”

“I heard you the first time…” Jamie muttered.

“OI! LONGSHANKS!”

Jamie shoved himself away from his desk and stomped towards his bedroom door. “WHAT?”

When there was no answer from below, Jamie rolled his eyes and returned to his computer. There was a forum he visited a lot, all for adopted kids looking for their parents. Their outrage over how Jeff, his _mother_ , was treating him was refreshing. No one else cared about Jamie’s problems.

“Jamie.”

“Oh my god, _what_? I thought you guys were catching a movie?” Twisting around to see his Dad, Jamie glared at him. He was just a Beta and Betas had no idea what Alphas had to go through and Jamie wished they would all just leave him alone.

….the longer Tim stared at him, the more Jamie felt like squirming.

“Jeff thought you should have this,” Tim finally said. He held up a cream colored folder, almost two inches thick. “Though I’m not sure I want to give it to you if you’re going to keep acting like a complete asshole.”

“...what is it?”

“His medical file. He.. and we… think you’re old enough. And I’ll give it to you on one condition.”

It was huge. What on earth could Jeff have had that he’d have a file thicker than most of Jamie’s textbooks? Fingers itching to grab it, Jamie asked cautiously “what condition?” Bracing himself for something stupid.

Setting the folder down on Jamie’s desk, Tim leaned in close so that they were almost nose to nose. “You’re going to go downstairs, give your mother a hug, and tell your him you hope he has a nice evening.”

It was on the tip of Jamie’s tongue to say Toby wasn’t his mother, but he both wanted the file and he wanted to live. So like a good boy he tripped down the stairs and gave a very surprised Toby a hug. “Have fun mom. I’ll leave the light on.”

The delighted smile he got back made him feel a little bad.. and it was a very sheepish young Alpha that closed the door behind the trio. He turned the porch light on.

Alright so he might have been acting a little bit like an asshole lately. He was a teenager, they should be able to understand he was going through a difficult time of his life right now.

=============================

“How do you feel Jeffrey?”

The photos had been printed out, something about how having hard copies in hand were supposed to be more personal than looking at a small screen.

Jeff flipped through a few more, pausing here and there to take in more details. A birthday party, Halloween, Christmas.

“...nothing. I feel nothing.”

“Does it bother you?”

Jeff set the photos face-down on the desk. “It bothers me that it doesn’t bother me. It should bother me, shouldn’t it? I barely even remember that year, but I know I had the thing and now Toby has it. Him. Jamie. Even if it did bother me, there’s nothing I can do about it because the adoption was legal and fair.”

“Do you think you’re not letting yourself be bothered because you fear you’d want him back?”

“No. God no. I never wanted kids. My mother used to make me go to this after-school Omega class that was supposed to teach me how to care for babies and clean house.. They passed out all these little robo-babies that were supposed to be realistic, you know? Fucker gave me the creeps so I tossed mine into the pool. After that she started letting me go to the arcade instead.”

The Doctor hmmed, neither agreeing or disagreeing. He gestured for Jeff to continue.

“Fine. I feel..” Jeff picked up the top picture and flipped it over to look at it again. “I guess I’m disappointed? Toby was one of my only Omega friends who understood what it was to be considered deviant. We were neighbors and we hung out sometimes... Jamie is important to him and I’m missing out on celebrating with Toby.”

He turned over the next picture. “I’m.. ok, yeah I’m a little angry. I want to go home. I want my motorcycle and my house and my friends. Every time I see him celebrating a birthday I’m reminded it’s been another year since I’ve seen any of those.”

The next photo was one of those cheesy school photos, the kid grinning at the camera with slicked back hair and a nice button-up shirt.

“Guilt. From the very start L never had the chance to bond with his son, he was too busy taking care of me. We’ll never have more, so that’s it. Thank god. But He gave up Jamie for me, moved across the world for me, and I’m paying him back by being even more of a problem.”

“I think in Jack’s eyes, you’ve become considerably less of a problem,” the Doktor rebuked.

“Well I’m not throwing up on him anymore. He knows he can leave me alone for a few hours without coming home to an ambulance.” Jeff ran his hand over the thick scar running up his arm. “I’m never going to be easy to deal with. He thought he was getting an Omega, not… this.”

“You’ve not become a different person Jeffrey, you just have a name for what you’ve been dealing with. Jack loves you, has loved you for many years, this will not change things. It will in fact make it easier on both of you because you know _why_ you do what you do.”

“Don’t need a reason to be a moody asshole.”

“You’re an intersexed Alpha with Omega attributes. To be treated as a mere Omega would be maddening for instincts you weren’t allowed to express, while insisting that you act what they considered to be proper.”

=============================

Toby never did need much sleep, which had helped a lot when Jamie was a tiny baby. Even now, when that baby was a far too tall teenager, Toby was up and moving at the crack of dawn. It was his time to relax and watch the sun come up with a cup of tea, both his son and his lovers fast asleep still.

A lot of people liked to make jokes about how the two Betas had to work as a tag-team in order to keep up with the energetic Omega, but Toby didn’t pay them much mind. It was kind of true? Brian worked the night shift at the bar, Tim worked the day shift for a cafe. One lover in, one lover out. Weekends were carefully planned in advance so that they could all have time together as a family...

Toby sighed.

Not that Jamie wanted to be a part of it anymore.

What had they done wrong?

“Mom?”

Toby looked up to find his son, was he still his son?, looking at him. He was outgrowing his clothes again, Toby noted. They’d have to take him clothes shopping soon, and for school supplies. He was supposed to get his learner's permit this summer but that had kind of fallen to the side in the light of other things..

“What’s up kiddo? We don’t usually see you till noon. Something wrong?”

Jamie scratched at the back of his head, looking more like Laff than ever and Toby’s heart twisted. The eyes though, the eyes were all Jeff. Though Jeff had never looked at him with such a guilty expression.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh. Well pull up a chair. Want some tea?”

“No, I’m good. Coffee’s better anyways.”

“Yeah, well, this is the only stuff your Dads will let me drink.”

Jamie took a seat, staring down at his hands, rubbing his fingers together. He’d had a phase, Toby remembered, around seven or so and being mad for drawing. He’d pick up every how-to-draw book he could find and go through reams of paper. Covered his arms and legs in marker. Jamie had eventually given up when he couldn’t make anything turn out the way he wanted it to.

At ten, Jamie had begged and pleaded to play Laser Tag, a poor stand-in for Paintball but better than nothing. It was all he’d wanted to do on family outings, but he never could quite make that work out either.

Starting High School, he’d signed up for German as his foreign language class.

Was it because Toby refused to have an Alpha? Had Jamie felt incomplete? They’d tried so hard, signing him up for Big Brother camp, asking Liu to come around more often..

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” Toby brought himself back to the present and his son. His big beautiful son who started blinking rapidly, eyes going shiny and wet.

“Am I freak?”

“What? Of course not! Why..” Toby sighed. He set down his cup with a soft clank. “Jamie, Jeff’s issues were one in a million. He was like.. case number four out of eight. You have nothing to worry about. And even if something had happened, we would have found it by now.”

“But they didn’t find it in him till he was old.”

“Older,” Toby corrected with a wrinkled nose. “Neither of us are old.”

Jamie’s unamused expression squashed the attempted levity quickly. “I’m serious. You were always complaining about how your check-ups were more complicated than your friends right? We were looking for problems. They aren’t there. You’re a perfectly normal, healthy, Alpha.”

“I’m the son of two Alphas, how is that normal? No wonder they ditched me as fast as they did..”

“Hey. Hey. No.” Toby reached out to take Jamie’s hands in his, holding them tightly as the teen tried to pull away. “Stop that. You’re not a freak and they didn’t aba- they didn’t give you up because of anything _you_ did. You read the.. stuff. All the medications he’s on, the exercises, the therapy. That’s all on Jeff. _Not you_. You’re an innocent bystander in all this.”

Jamie started blinking quickly, eyes going shiny. “But they left me.”

“They did what they thought was best for you. Dragging a child through all that stuff, it would have been abusive. They had no idea if going to Germany would help, or if Jeff would get worse. Leaving you here, with us, it was the best choice they had.”

Standing now, he moved around the table to kiss the top of Jamie’s head. “I know you’re confused and hurting. If I could make it all go away I would.” Toby let out a slow breath. “All I can say is I love you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Jamie turned and buried his face against Toby’s stomach. Toby curled around him and hugged him as tightly as possible.

“No matter what, I love you. Without fail. You’re my baby and that will never change.”

=============================

“Oh my god I don’t think I’m cut out for this….”

Brian was contentedly swiping his brush up and down and around and sideways, looking mesmerized by the paint strokes on the wall. “Suck it up buttercup. Unless you want to still be painting when the kiddo’s graduating highschool.”

Tim looked at the mostly bare wall. Down at the bucket of pale yellow paint. Back to the wall. “Aren’t we trying to force our color preferences on an innocent toddler?”

His hopeful tone cracked Toby up. He was sitting by the door but out in the hall with the baby on his lap. The fumes weren’t good for Omega or infant, so the Betas were the ones to suffer. “Cause everyone knows how terrible yellow is. Blasphemous even. Burn it down!”

Brian rolled his eyes. “I gave up my Sunday for this…”

It was going to be a challenge to go from a adult-only household to having a toddler. Jamie was walking too, so that meant a lot of baby… things. Plastic plugs for the wall sockets, latches for the cabinet doors.. That had been yesterday. The whole house was now a baby paradise in safety.

And Brian had to go through three different locks to get a beer.

“Wanna ditch the kids and go liberate some alcohol?’ he ‘whispered’ to Tim.

“You haven't noticed?”

“...notice what?”

“All the beers gone. We’re now stocked on juice boxes and bottled water.”

“Shhhhhucks,” Brian swore.

It wasn’t all bad though. Watching Toby blow raspberries on Jamie’s stomach was the most AWWW! inducing scene ever. Brian was pretty sure he could get used to it.

Just had to finish painting the damn nursery.

“Hey, did you know you can take babies into bars?”

“Don’t you dare.”

Dropping the roller into the paint tray with a splash, Brian went to the doorway and crouched down. “Who’s gunna be my little bar-baby? Who? That’s right, you are!” tickling Jamie under the chin. “You can fill all the peanut bowls and mop up the spills. Whatya say?”

Toby laughed at him. Or.. at something behind him. The cold wet feeling of a paintbrush going down his back made the Beta yelp.

Jamie squealed in delight as the adults played, getting paint everywhere but on the walls. Toby nuzzled his hair, beaming. “Yeah, we’re gunna have a lot of fun around here. Just you wait.”


End file.
